Et in Arcadia ego

Et in Arcadia ego is a Latin phrase that may be translated as "Even in Arcadia, there am I". It is used to describe that even in idyllic land of Arcadia, life is finite. The phrase is sometimes translated as "I too exist in paradise".

The term Arcadia refers to a vision of pastoralism and harmony with nature and is derived from the Greek province of the same name which dates to antiquity. In popular use, it may refer to:

• Et in Arcadia ego (Poussin), also called The Arcadian Shepherds, a 1637–38 painting by French Baroque artist Nicolas Poussin.

• Et in Arcadia ego (Guercino), a c. 1618–1622 painting by the Italian Baroque artist il Guercino.

• "Et in Arcadia Ego" (Brideshead Revisited), the first episode of the 1981 British television serial Brideshead Revisited.

• "Et in Arcadia Ego" (Star Trek: Picard), the final episode of the first season of the 2020 American science fiction television series.

• A phrase often used in memento mori, an artistic and literary trope acting as a reminder of the inevitability of death.

See also

• Arcadia (utopia), a vision of pastoralism and harmony with nature derived from the Greek region of the same name
• Eclogue 5, a pastoral poem by the Latin poet Virgil often considered the inspiration for the phrase